The FAST system has sparked new enthusiasm in growers. FAST is a positive alternative to traditional facilities that require more intense physical work.

			Dr. Barry Kerkaert

Dr. Barry Kerkaert, a consulting veterinarian at the Pipestone (MN) Veterinary Clinic, is upbeat about the potential advantages of FAST™ (Farmweld Automatic Sorting Technology.) So much so he phoned the writer of this story to add to an already long list of potential benefits he described in an earlier interview. “One of the best things about the FAST system is that it has sparked new enthusiasm in growers,” says Dr. Kerkaert.

“Two of our biggest challenges are loading animals and washing barns,” Kerkaert says. “FAST is very attractive because it decreases washing time, and it makes loading much easier. Some people even say it makes loading fun.”

Dr. Kerkaert says he knows of one person who was considering exiting the business because of orthopedic problems. According to Dr. Kerkaert, this individual is now considering retrofitting older buildings with the FAST system and continuing to raise pigs. Dr. Kerkaert says he sees FAST as a positive alternative to traditional production facilities that require more intense physical work. “In the pig business we need to always be looking for innovative ways to make the job more appealing,” he says.

The reason that loading pigs onto slaughter trucks from FAST barns is easier than from conventional facilities is because pigs are used to walking single file through the scale, a narrow space similar to a loading chute. FAST facilities require less washing time because there is less gating used in the very large pens.

Dr. Kerkaert also thinks FAST offers “tremendous” potential in other areas such as improving barn space efficiency, reducing sort loss at marketing, helping producers predict or know growth for better nutrition management and helping them better predict performance.

Because barns with very large pens eliminate the need for long alleyways, Dr. Kerkaert says FAST buildings pay for themselves. “The cost of gating and feeders is a wash (versus non-FAST buildings),” says Dr. Kerkaert. “And the useable pig space we gain from the elimination of the walkway offsets the cost of the scale.”

More useable pig space can be realized in several different ways:

As with all new technologies, Kerkaert says there is a learning curve in some aspects of managing FAST facilities. Areas he’s studying closely are the most efficient protocol for training pigs, how to maximize the opportunity to better manage feeding programs using the FAST scale and how to maximize the efficiencies of better space utilization.